Bandits
By Publisher
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Bandits again attacked some communities in Sokoto State, abducting over 150 persons and rustling more than 1,000 cattle.
Earlier, the Emir of Gatawa, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa, who was abducted alongside his son and six others on the Sokoto-Sabon Birni Road on July 29, 2024 and later killed when his family could not pay the ransom demanded.
Professor Bello Bada of the Department of English, Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, who confirmed the latest incident, lamented that it was unfortunate that bandits had returned to their dastardly operations in the area just a few days after the death of the emir.
“The most painful thing about it is that some important people in the area could access the telephone numbers of the bandits and could even have conversations with them. Why? It means the bandits are known,” the universe don said.
“People in the area go for negotiation with bandits; it means they know where they are. Why do bandits go to markets freely and sell their cows in the area ?
“Why is it that in the area about 1,000 cows were carted away by bandits? Do the cows have wings to fly? What about our intelligence? How did the bandits pass through villages and towns without being noticed?
“They are taking the rustled cattle into the bush while at the same time, residents of some communities within the district are inside the same bush mining for gold. No, something is wrong. We should tell ourselves the truth. We have to sit down and address this problem for the future of our children.”
Aminu Boza, a member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, representing Sabon Birni (North), revealed that a total of 151 people were abducted between Tsamaye and Sabon Birni.
According to the lawmaker: “A day after the death of Sarkin Gobir, the bandits attacked Tsamaye village again, killing some people and abducting unspecified others.
“They also attacked Yanfaruna village and abducted 22 people and they went to the next village and abducted 11 people.
“So, a total of 192 people have been abducted and they are still in captivity.
“Besides the abduction of people, we have lost over 20,000 hectares of land to the bandits. They stopped our people from cultivating the land for several years now. Over 92 per cent of our wealth has been wasted by these bandits.”
He claimed that there were no security personnel in most of the banditry-prone areas in Sabon Birni, adding that: “Kwanar Maharba is the most dangerous spot among all the spots I have mentioned. Banditry operation is taking place in this particular spot almost daily.
“Some of our people had to change their route through Niger Republic whenever they are going to Sokoto because it is safer. We don’t have a single security checkpoint along that road.
“The locations of most of the bandits’ leaders are known. Bello Turji, for instance, is residing in Fakai and from Fakai to Shinkafi is a distance of less than three kilometers. Halilu is residing in Tsububu village and Jummo Baki in Gangara village.”
Boza disclosed that he had met with the deputy governor over arrangements to deploy security operatives to the affected areas to significantly reduce banditry.
“Three days ago, I met the Sokoto State deputy governor and together we are making efforts for the deployment of an additional 1,200 soldiers to Sokoto State and Sabon Birni will get additional security personnel in the next one week”, he said.
Boza appealed to the Federal Government to hearken to the cries of the residents of Sabon Birni and come to their aid.
Recall also that following the killing of the Emir of Gatawa, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa, hundreds of youths in the area staged protests, which forced the state government to impose a curfew on Sabon Birni.
